James and Poppy
by james.rasmussen
Summary: I used the name James and Poppy with their characteristics. but they are both humans. this story is credited to L.J.Smith. Enjoy!


Untitled.

James ducked as Poppy walked passed the hallway. She is always so careless. Poppy's bag would have hit his head if he hadn't shifted his body swiftly.

"Oops. Sorry 'bout that." Poppy said briefly scratching her hair.  
"No worries, I'm used to it." James replied with a simple shrug of his shoulders and a half smile.  
"Come on. We'll be late if we don't hurry Poppy." James reminded.

James put a hand around Poppy's shoulder and pushed her along. At that moment Poppy felt a weird _pang_ in her heart and warmth soaked her body. She shook it the feelings off nonetheless and continued walking. It has not been the first time she felt this way. She has gotten used to the feeling since she met James. She knew, that deep inside, she was wildly in love with him. She also knew, however, that James would never fall for her. He has handsome features and a smile that no one can resist no smiling back to. He was what every girl at school wanted.

On the other hand, she was just a normal girl. She was way smaller than all the other 17 year olds and was often mistaken to be a secondary school kid. Her only specialty was her knack for cooking. Even with the simplest ingredients, she could bring out an unique taste that no one could.

Their first lesson was Math. Poppy's favourite subject, but James' worst. Poppy always paid extra attention in class whenever the teacher is explaining. After school every Friday, the day Poppy looked forward to all week, the day where James goes to her house after school to study math.

"What do you want? Orange juice or water?" Poppy asked with a bright and cheery smile spreading across her face.  
"I want you..." James said with a wink.

At that point of time, Poppy swear she could felt heat rising in her cheeks.

"...to bring me a cup of water. Thanks." James said completing the sentence. He bowed exaggeratingly to show his appreciation.

Poppy thought that he looked like a strong and gallant knight. She almost believed that he was going to bring her to his castle when she felt pain. Extreme pain, growing in her heart. The _pang_ was hurting real bad. She clutched her chest in pain. She tried to breathe properly but she can't. The pain was too much to bear. She had to gasp hard for air. Suddenly, she felt that her world was spinning. And the last thing she saw was James' face, pale with horror and worry. Everything went black in her mind.

James phoned the ambulance immediately. He carried Poppy down the house and into the ambulance, holding tightly to Poppy's hand. He went up the ambulance together with her.

Please Poppy; be okay, he prayed silently.

Poppy awoke in the middle of the night. She found herself in a hospital ward with James holding her hand. She stroked his hair gently. She had a bad feeling. A feeling that meant that she might be gone from the world, from James anytime.

He looks so pretty even when he's asleep, Poppy thought to herself.

James stirred. At first he yawned slowly. But when he saw Poppy grinning at him, he smiled brilliantly.

"Poppy! You're awake! You almost scared me there. I thought... I thought-" James let the sentence trail off.  
"I'm alright, Jamie." Poppy said softly. She continued stroking his hair and admiring his beautiful features. Jamie, the name only Poppy was allowed to call James by.

James caught hold of her hand and looked into her seriously.

"Poppy, do you have something you want to tell me?" James asked solemnly.

His eyes seemed to see through her and at the same time seemed to be so persuading...

"James, there's this heart condition I have since I was young. It would cause me pain once in a while but I have always gotten used to it. So, I don't think this is anything..."  
"Serious? Have you ever fainted because of it?" James asked again, his expressions firm.  
"No, but..." Poppy began.

James broke her off.

"Poppy, I know this isn't the right time, but I need to tell you something. Poppy, I CARE about you." James started.  
"Oh yeah?" Poppy asked, unbelieving, James was going to say how he feels towards her.  
"Yes Poppy. Please believe me. I mean I have never felt this way before..."

Poppy could feel that James was struggling with his words, trying to make everything sound -- right. Poppy felt James take a deep breath and continue.

"Everything I see you, there's this feeling I have... Every time I touch you, something seems to make my mind feel with joy. Joy of seeing you, feeling you. And... and..." James paused, taking another deep breath.  
"It's not that I'm bad at math. It's because I want to be with you. And since mats is your best subject, I think you know the rest." James said.

For a minute the ward was silent.

"So you did badly for math on purpose." Poppy said after digesting what James said.  
"Well, yeah. But that's not the point. My point is, I am worried about you. I don't want you to depart, leave this world."  
"Die?" Poppy asked dully.  
"Yes, that."  
"I won't." Poppy stated.  
"Because, I am in love with you." Poppy said with another smile.  
"And of course, I am madly in love with you too." James said grinning.

James and Poppy hugged each other. The feeling was amazing. At first, Poppy could feel James breathing, and then she felt so warm, so warm that it felt safe and peaceful all at once. They stayed that way for a long time. Poppy felt good staying in James' warm embrace.

"I think you should go back to sleep now Poppy. You need rest. The doctor said that he will tell us the test results tomorrow." James said pushing her back gently.

He laid her gently on the hospital bed and gave her a soft peck on her forehead.

"Sleep well, Poppy." James said softly in her ear, tucking her in.

James slumped back into the chair he was sitting on previously and rested his head on the bed. He and Poppy slept peacefully into the night.

The next afternoon amidst James and Poppy's deep heated conversation on a math question, the doctor strode into the ward. James and Poppy looked up at the doctor immediately. Bracing themselves for the results.

"Miss Poppy here has gotten a rare heart disease. The symptoms are hardly recognizable in the early stages but in the advance stage, the patient normally faint due to extreme pain in the chest. And Miss Poppy's condition is rather serious. She might have another relapse anytime. I suggest a heart operation as soon as possible. But the problem is..."

"What!" James and Poppy said in unison.

"The chances of a major operation like this are 3." The doctor finished.  
"If she doesn't take the operation, she can live for 3 days, if she does and the operation succeeds, she'll be able to live. However, if the operation fails, she'll die immediately. It's your choice. As a doctor, I recommend the surgery." The doctor commented.  
"I'll give you both time to think through. I'll come by sometime later today." The doctor said and walked off.

Poppy felt tears welling up in her eyes when the doctor left. Before she knew it, she was crying. She was crying like she never cried before. Tears streamed down from her face uncontrollably. She couldn't stop herself. At first she was living a normal life as a teenager, and second moment, she's dying. How can life be so unfair? She found out that James loved her as much as she loved him. She was thinking of happily ever after. Now, everything came crashing down in a moment's time. The end of her life. A full stop to all possibilities of the future.

James closed his eyes and he appeared to be deep in thought.

When Poppy found the voice to speak, she managed to croak, "James, I don't want to take the operation."  
"But Poppy! If you don't there will be no chance of surviving at all!" James exploded.  
"I've made my decision James. I'll rather live for 3 more days rather than die in the hospital. Take me out James. Now." Poppy's voice was still shaky but her eyes were calm and firm.

Somehow, James didn't feel like objecting to her wishes. Even though that deep inside, he knew this wasn't right.

He took her out of the hospital in his tiny red car with prescriptions of pain killers. Poppy pointed out the directions of where she wanted to go.

The first two days were spent saying goodbyes to everyone. Everyone Poppy knew. Mostly through phone calls. She said goodbyes to her classmates and parents. Despite objecting, they still gave in the end.

On the last day, Poppy made James drive her to a cliff to have a picnic.

When they have set up everything, Poppy and James chat and ate at the same time. Within the short eating time, they learnt more about each other. But when they finished, Poppy felt that she couldn't suppress the pain anymore.

She clutched her heart in pain. James immediately rushed to her and held her in his arms. She felt as she did on the last attack, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Air, it was running out fast.

"James...I ..Love you, with ...all my heart..." managed to stutter before she had no strength to gasp for any more breaths.

James stared at Poppy's body. It looked shrunken and deadly pale. Tears formed in his eyes and flowed down freely down his face. At that particular time, he made a decision. A smile curved his lips.

"Poppy, I love you too."

He carried her body till the edge of the cliff.

"I want to be with you, no matter where you are, I'll be with you."

He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. Her body moulded into his perfectly such that he protected her. Even though she has died and couldn't feel any pain, he still did not want her to hit the crashing waves of the ocean.

With a great leap, he jumped off the cliff.


End file.
